3 Mar – Administrative and bureaucratic reform minister Yuddy Chrisnandi embarked on a campaign last week to strengthen the enforcement of the regulation that requires senior officials to declare their assets, sources of income, liabilities and interests. He warned proper and regular updating of the information or content of their asset declaration would be assessed as one of the parameters used in performance appraisal. Indonesia has been one of more than 140 countries that have issued regulations obliging senior public officials to declare their assets and income and, increasingly, the assets and income of their spouses and dependent children as part of the anti-graft drive, which has been stepped up after the establishment of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in the early 2000s. The anti-graft law requires senior state and government officials, including lawmakers and political appointees,…

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3 Mar – To be honest, when Adenan Satem took over as the Sarawak chief minister, many were taken aback: "Why him?" Even after he took his oath, few had high expectations from this gentleman, wondering what he could really do for the state. Despite the fact that he was a veteran leader of PBB, he was seen as being far away from the core of power. Moreover, he was not young, and had long passed his prime. His…